Flue-curing operation. All flue-cured tobacco is harvested by priming. A 
curing barn is completely filled with the tobacco as it comes from the field, 
in one day, so that there will be uniformity in the curing. Heat is applied 
with attention to the gradual changes in the leaf, particularly to the changes 
in color and moisture content. Curing may be considered to take place in three 
stages: (1) Yellowing, (2) drying of the leaf, and (3) drying of the stem. 
(1) In the yellowing stage, the heat is maintained at around 90° to 100°, for 
24 to 40 hours under average conditions; (2) it is then moved up fairly rapid- 
ly to 135° to 140° to dry the leaf and fix the color, which takes from 30 to 
36 hours; (3) and then is gradually raised to 170° to 175° and maintained at 
this level until the stems are thoroughly dry. Careful watch is kept through 
out the whole curing process, which is completed in 4 to 6 days. 
When the tobacco is ready to be taken down, the barn is left open during 
the preceding night, and the floor may be sprinkled with water, so that enough 
moisture may be absorbed by the leaves to bring them into condition for han 
dling. If the leaf can be folded in the hand without breaking the stem, it is 
in proper condition to be taken down without injury. 
When the sticks of tobacco are taken down, they are removed to separate 
buildings called "packhouses," where they are bulked down in windrows. These 
are rearranged at the end of a week or ten days to improve the color of the 
leaf. Sometime prior to delivery to the auction market, the tobacco is re- 
moved from the sticks and sorted into different lots or grades (fig. 24). As 
a rule, the different primings are handled separately and only a few grades 
are made of each. Care is taken to remove all the strings by which the leaves 
were attached to the sticks. 
Figure 24.--Sorting and tying flue-cured tobacco in preparation 
for marketing. 
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